next »

[Ordnas]

I’m currently focus on the spatial communication of the Citadel, iterating on how to motivate player movement.

For example within the market square, exits aren’t immediately visible due to the maze of market stalls obstructing the view. Players are forced to navigate the space actively, uncovering more information as they explore and mentally chart the area.



As they walk to the other side of the square, a clear exit is revealed. This different perspective allows for strategic planning, enemy spotting, and anticipation of rewards, making exploration less boring and giving a reason for exploration.

[Ordnas]

The greybox reiteration of the new level continues. I completed the lower part of the citadel, consisting of the town. The player, starting from the main gate in the lower area, must make his way through the city streets to reach the castle in the upper area. The next step is to create the castle rooms.

[Ordnas]

Fight combat against 2 Skeleton enemies. Destructibles can be useful as obstacles against enemies and be able to manage spaces better. In the future I'll have to do a pass on the destructibles in the boxes, they don't always shatter completely.

[Ordnas]

Fight against Soldier enemy. Strong attack and parry followed by a front stab. I love parries in action games, so I'm glad I included it in my game.

[Ordnas]

I’m starting the level design of the castle, with the walls and the shortcut tower that takes you back to the bonfire.
As soon as the player starts the level, the castle is shown in the distance to give the player a clear objective. Weenies (in this case the castle) are little clues to tell the player where to go.

[Ordnas]

Prototype of the Possession ability on a Soldier Spearman enemy. Possession has a maximum activation time, upon finishing the enemy is damaged (and dies if the remaining health is zero). I will still have to reiterate on the mechanics, especially on being able to make consecutive attacks.

[Ordnas]

The level design of the castle is progressing quite fast, although it will take me all month. I’ve completed the left side of the castle, the garden area, where continuing will lead to a plaza where you’ll have the choice of climbing the walls or entering the dungeon.
Sometimes I waste a little too much time on the aesthetic details, I shouldn’t since it’s a greybox, there will be time for that when I put in the real environment.

[Ordnas]

The Green Knight is one of the strongest enemies in the game because of its high damage. This knight can be too strong to fight at the beginning, as will easily kill you in 1 -2 hits. However I will still have to reiterate on the enemy, movements are still a bit too predictable.

[Ordnas]

I’m doing the stairs going down into the dungeon. I like that they are narrow and go downward to give a feeling of tension as you go down (there will be torches on the wall since it will be dark).

In the second screenshot you can see how I placed the slanted ceiling, I tried to keep the same distance from the floor. I placed it a little quickly but it will be done more carefully when I put the models in.

[Ordnas]

Fight against a Silver Knight enemy. This enemy is easier than a Green Knight Spearman, but not to be underestimated for his damage.
If you take the right time between his attacks it is not too difficult to back stab him from behind.

[Ordnas]

Fight against 3 Skeleton enemies. Narrow space does not help mobility during combat, a management of stamina and blocking are key elements for survival.

[Ordnas]

I am continuing the level design of the castle greybox. I put up the section of the castle walls. I’m leaving out a few things (missing floors and walls), I will fix them when I put the environnement.

[Ordnas]

Fight against Soldier enemy. Destructibles can restrict player movement, in these cases breaking them (e.g., using a dash) is a good idea to get more space.

[AdamM]

The level design looks like it’s coming along really nicely! I’m sure it can be tough to balance that with building gameplay systems at the same time.

[Ordnas]

The level design looks like it’s coming along really nicely! I’m sure it can be tough to balance that with building gameplay systems at the same time.

Thank you, I'm glad to hear that, it means I'm on the right track 
Actually it's not that hard to split my time between level design and building gameplay systems, my method is to devote myself to only one thing at a time (e.g. 1 month I devote to prototyping gameplay mechanics, the next month I devote to level design instead, and so on).

[Ordnas]

Almost finished the level design of the last rooms, the greybox is coming along quite well. I almost finished the main square of the castle and the section of the castle wall.

[Ordnas]

The heavy attack does a lot of damage but the startup is slower than a light attack. There is a small chance that the enemy get staggered, it is an opportunity to be able to make a front stab.

[Ordnas]

Fight against Skeleton enemy. Often the best strategy is to block the enemy’s attack and take advantage of its knockback recovery to do a back stab. I still need to finish adding and polishing the animations (so some enemy recovery animations are incomplete).

[Ordnas]

Using Possession Ability the player can take possession and control enemies. Enemies will attack possessed enemies, so we should be careful of other enemies around. I'll have to keep working on many of the enemies' animations, during Possession these come out a bit broken.